More than 50 migrants were found dead in an abandoned tractor-trailer in San Antonio on Monday, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott blamed the deaths on President Joe Biden's "deadly open border policies."
"At Least 42 People Found Dead Inside Truck Carrying Migrants In Texas," Abbott tweeted on Monday night. "These deaths are on Biden. They are a result of his deadly open border policies.
"They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law," Abbott added.
According to the Associated Press, authorities said that 46 people were declared dead at the scene, and five others died after being taken to a hospital.
Roberto Velasco Álvarez, head of the North America department in Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department, tweeted that 22 of the people were from Mexico, seven were from Guatemala, and two were from Honduras. The nationality of 19 people was undetermined.
"Our condolences. All responsible will be brought to justice," Álvarez said.
Abbott was not the only politician to call out Biden's border policies as the cause for the deaths, as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs both gave their thoughts on Twitter.
"Horrific. This..is..WRONG," Cruz tweeted. "How many more people have to die before Dems give a damn? #BidenBorderCrisis."
"So tragic. So preventable," Biggs tweeted. "What Biden, [Alejandro] Mayorkas, and Democrats refuse to acknowledge is that securing the border will save lives."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke to reporters about the deaths on Tuesday and said, "We’re focused on them, on the facts, and holding the human [smugglers] who endangered vulnerable individual — individuals for profits accountable.
"And we’re focused on continuing our historic actions to disrupt dangerous smuggling networks, including through a new anti-smuggling campaign that just in the first two months resulted in over 1,800 arrests. But the fact of the matter is the border is closed, which is in part why you see people trying to make this dangerous journey using smuggling networks."
Biggs saw that quote on Twitter and replied to it, "What a tone-deaf remark. Biden has created an open border and has helped facilitate human trafficking."
Biden then released a statement on Tuesday, calling the incident "horrifying and heartbreaking."
"While we are still learning all the facts about what happened and the Department of Homeland Security has the lead for the investigation, initial reports are that this tragedy was caused by smugglers or human traffickers who have no regard for the lives they endanger and exploit to make a profit," Biden said.
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